1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for applying sealant materials to flooring surfaces, and, in particular, to methods for applying sealant to a flooring plank or tile using packaging systems which transfer sealant material from the surrounding packaging material to the flooring plank or tile. When the resulting flooring planks or tiles are assembled, the seal provides a moisture resistant barrier at the seam or junction between adjacent planks or tiles. The invention also provides methods and systems for applying a variety of substances to the contents of a container.
2. Description of the Background
A wide variety of systems have been developed for covering floors and other surfaces. Many systems use a plurality of individual flooring planks or tiles that are placed adjacent to and connected to each other to form a decorative covering for the floor or other surface. In such systems, it is important for the seams or joints between these flooring planks or tiles to be resistant to penetration by water and other fluids.
In order to provide a moisture barrier, sealant materials may be placed on the edges of the flooring planks, or on other components of the flooring system. When placed on the edges of the plank, additional manufacturing steps are required in order to properly apply and position the sealant on the edge. These steps increase production time and require specialized complex equipment, resulting in increased manufacturing costs.
For example, in one in-line manufacturing process used in the production of laminate flooring planks or tiles, various pieces of equipment are connected together via a series of conveyors. During the manufacturing process, the product travels through numerous machining procedures at speeds or feed rates that often exceed 100 linear feet per minute. At these feed rates, it is difficult, if not impossible, to accurately apply a controlled quantity of any form of sealant to all four edge profiles of each flooring plank or tile. Further, any form of sealant placed on the edge profiles of the flooring planks or tiles during the manufacturing process must dry or cure within a short time frame (e.g., one second) to prevent the transfer of wet sealant onto the various processing and/or handling equipment.
Consequently, there is a need for methods and packaging systems which allow the efficient and effective application of sealant to the edges of flooring planks or tiles, while keeping manufacturing costs at a minimum.